Vatican endorses game app for ‘catching’ saints

The Vatican has endorsed a game based on Pokemon Go that involves “catching” saints and biblical characters.

Follow JC Go involves players using augmented reality on their phones to walk around urban areas looking for religious figures to capture. However, instead of using a ball to trap them, the player must answer a question on them.

Players must also keep themselves nourished with objects scattered around the city, increasing their level of nutrition, hydration and prayer.

Catholic evangelical group Fundación Ramón Pané built the app in preparation for World Youth Day 2019 in Panama. Ricardo Grzona, the group’s executive director, told Crux: “You know, [Pope] Francis is not a very technological person, but he was in awe, he understood the idea, what we were trying to do: combine technology with evangelization.”

The game is free to download on iOS and Android devices, but is currently only available in Spanish.